Continuing on from the previous “The Faces of the Doctor” thread, this is a place to discuss the Doctor, the many actors who have played him and the production team behind them. Who was your Doctor? Which are the interpretations you like, and are there ones you don’t? How has the show we love changed over the years?

Remember – anyone can have an opinion, but the value to others is a justified opinion.

(This entry is the result of a PM, and being urged to share these thoughts for everyone.)

My sweetie’s opinion of this last season wasn’t positive. She only liked the finale, and remained lukewarm about that. She’s skipping the New Year’s special to watch something she wants to see more.

I know why. She wants a Doctor who’s a cross between Sherlock Holmes and Mr. Spock. Someone who isn’t afraid to show their intellect, with a larger-than-life personality who can command the room when necessary.

Thirteen (Whittaker) isn’t like that and isn’t meant to be. But it means this season has left my sweetie behind.

And, to be honest, I think my sweetie has a point. I can understand why this Doctor doesn’t make bombastic speeches. But, you know, I’ve seen where a number of fans have said that they love the Doctor’s weapons being words. True that. But this Doctor doesn’t seem to get listened to.

Go see the scene in The Witchfinders where she makes the impassioned speech to King James, and not only is he not convinced, his response shuts her up.

Winning the repartee battles isn’t actually my point, though. It’s that the writers could arm her better for them.

See, after watching eight days of AG Who on BBC America, lots of dialog sticks in my head. By series:

1. “Stupid ape!” “Everybody lives!”
2. “It’s a fightin’ hand!” “Six words. Six.” “Lonely angel.” “You can spend the rest of your life with me, but I can’t spend mine with you.”
3. “Don’t blink. Don’t even blink. Blink and you’re dead.”
4. “Hello, Dad.” “Hey! Who turned out the lights?” “Donna Noble has left the library. Donna Noble has been saved.”
5. “Life is a pile of good things and a pile of bad things. And something added to the pile of bad things doesn’t take away from the good things.” “I. Am. Talking!”
6. “Shut up, Hitler!” “I always took you where you needed to go.” “You shout at them because they’re happy, and you know they’re going to be sad. And it breaks your heart.” “You saved me a place?” – “We always do.”
7. “Eggs… Eggs… Eggs…term…in…ate.” “We don’t walk away.”
8. “Fear is a superpower.” “And did you think that would make any difference to the way I feel about you?” “A hug is just a way to hide your face.” “Am I a good man? I’m an idiot!”
9. “No one else will ever feel this pain!” “When you come into this world, something else comes with you.” “I’m not scared of hell, it’s just heaven for bad people.” “Don’t you trust me?” – “Not when you’re shouting.”
10. “Everything looks evil from the other end of the cutlery. Or did you think your bacon sandwich loves you back?” “Just be kind.”

Honestly, other than nonsense about rebellious sheep and salad-throwing taunts, I can’t remember any dialog from Series 11. None of it seems memorable. The relentless focus on the ordinary seems to have included ordinary dialog.

I don’t mean to be unfair. I think Graham said some memorable things. And there were facts I don’t need about acetylene gas. The Doctor probably said some good lines too, but maybe didn’t stop long enough for me to remember any. And her speech at the end of The Battle of Random Namings was pretty good, but it was about exploration, and there wasn’t much of that in Series 11, a lot more about being unable to prevent evil.

Still, there’s no reason this should detract from your enjoyment of the show or series. You’re not me.

Me, I have a huge problem with it. During my working career, I had bosses both good and bad. Series 11 too often was just like time with a bad boss, knowing what needed to be done, making an impassioned speech and being shut up in response.

So Series 11 for me has been too much like bad days at work, but without the paycheck. Or benefits. A life insurance plan, I insist on that.

Maybe the New Year holds something better. Maybe something special, something good and memorable in our lives. I hope so, for every one of us.

I want to do one more post on Series 11 before we head into the special, and it’s about one element that I know has given reviewers trouble, and that I find interesting: names.

The episode titles have been a bit hit or miss, I think, given how many reputable reviewers I’ve seen who have to struggle to remember Ranskoor av Kolos, or consistently misspell Tsuranga. If reviewers can’t remember, that suggests to me that something could have been better. A Good Man Goes to War avoided that problem, as did Sontaran Stratagem. So maybe Ranskoor av Kolos should have been left out of the title? Name the hospital ship after something most English-speakers associate with medicine? I don’t know.

My criticism here isn’t entirely negative, though. Just because some episodes had titles that gave trouble doesn’t mean they all did. The Woman Who Fell to Earth is excellent in just about every way, including the reference to the androgynous David Bowie suggesting that Thirteen wouldn’t be “girly.”

And Kerblam! sure turned out to be what was going on in that episode. My season favorite, It Takes You Away, was both evocatively and accurately titled, too.

Some of the names within episodes left me scratching my head a little. Is there an Uxbridge or Uxton or the like in the UK that will make British viewers think of something massively powerful but a bit misguided, like the Ux? I don’t know.

Let me see if I can show you what I mean, about a few names that weren’t bad or anything, just didn’t seem to fit the creature the way some comparable critters in AG Who have:

Ux

Ood

Pting

Mr. Sweet

And anyone else think Crass-co would have been a great name for not-Trump?

Well, that’s it for that topic for me, and maybe Series 11 too. It’s certainly been interesting, and anything that gives me something to write about is welcome. Not, as you all know, that it takes much…

I am new here, first post, so please don’t fault me if I post in the wrong thread. I have watched this show since the late 70s and have been a fan since then. I often watch TV and sometimes picture in my mind who the next Doctor could be and who I would love to see star in that role. Hugh Laurie, also known as Dr. House. There could be so many innuendos from his previous show, not to mention, I do think he is a wonderful actor.

@coach-t – I’d say this is the right thread! Sorry no one’s commented, but it’s not because you’re doing anything wrong, it just hasn’t caught anyone’s interest. (I don’t watch much TV, and can’t comment on Hugh Laurie.) Stick around though, please!